LIVE STREAM: German Quarterfinals – Berlin Rebels @ Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, Sat. Sept. 16 5p CEST (11a EDT)

AFI | American Football | 09/16/2017

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic

In perhaps the best matchup of the German Football League quarterfinals, the Berlin Rebels will travel to Optima Sportpark in Schwäbisch Hall to take on the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns Saturday.

The 14-0 Unicorns face a Berlin Rebels team that is better than their record indicates. At 8-6, although Berlin only qualified for the post season on the second last weekend of the regular season, they seemed to improve in the last month. With running backs Lawrence McCoy and Chris Smith in the backfield, they can pose a threat to any team.

The last time these two teams met was in the 2016 German quarterfinals when Schwäbisch Hall prevailed 24-14.

Key position comparison

Quarterbacks

Schwäbisch Hall quarterback Marco Ehrenfried led the league in passing finishing with 3,735 yards and 46 touchdowns in 2017. And he brings amazing playoff experience to his team, making him hard to bet against. However, the Rebels former quarterback Terrell Robinson has returned and led his team to two straight wins and will start today. Robinson threw for 511 yards in those two victories.

Running backs

Schwäbisch Hall’s veteran running back Danny Washington is no stranger to pressure games. While his numbers were modest in 2017 he still averaged 6.2 yards a carry. His counterpart with Berlin, Lawrence McCoy had a quiet year by his standards but is capable of breakout games and may be due for one.

Receivers

This could be a duel worth watching. Tyler Rutenbeck of the Unicorns has been a top 5 receivers all season long while Berlin’s Alexander Tounkara has also been steady. He combined with Robinson for 328 yards receiving in the final two regular season games to climb into 2nd in receiving yardage.

Linebackers

Nikolas Knoblauch has been a leader and helped the Unicorns front seven transform into a formidable unit finishing with 75 tackles on the year and three sacks. Berlin linebacker Rory Johnson, formerly from Ole Miss, recorded 88 tackles and five sacks on the year.